The present invention relates to a method of conveying materials and a tubular belt conveyor therefor. Particularly, the present invention relates to a method of conveying powdery or granular materials with a steep slope and a tubular belt conveyor for carrying out the method.
There is a conventional tubular belt conveyor in which the larger part of an endless conveyor belt is rolled up to a tubular shape in which powdery or granular materials are enclosed for continuously conveying. The tubular belt conveyor can easily transfer powdery or granular materials with a slope compared with other types of belt conveyors.
But, when the materials to be conveyed are heavy or flowable such as dry sand or when the angle of inclination is very large, the conveyed materials are likely to slip down and accumulate in the lower part, so that the conveying becomes unsmooth or is obstructed.
To solve the problems, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 57-147807 describes that a plurality of fins are provided inside the conveyor belt to prevent materials from slipping down, and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 58-83313 describes that a plurality of bellows are provided inside the conveyor belt to prevent materials from slipping down.
Such devices could prevent conveyed materials from slipping down, but the structure of the conveyor belt is very complicate, which is too expensive in the production, and for long use, the projected fins or bellows are likely to be damaged or broken.